*nix performance

[Clarence Dold]

>From article <9902 at ico.ISC.COM>, by rcd at ico.ISC.COM (Dick Dunn):
>> | One of my main interests is whether a fast (25MHz with cache etc) 386 with
>> | some users attached to it can compare itself with a VAX/750 or other minis.
> 
> Also, think very carefully about what sort of disk(s) you're going to put
This also harks back to the MAC - vs - PC discussion of a particular DMA
not being as fast as CPU data transfer.  A DMA activity does take some setup
time.  If the system (single-tasking) is going to be idle until the disk
transfer is complete, -and- the CPU is fast enough to handle disk data on the
fly, -then- CPU will be faster than DMA.
As soon as you talk multi-user, that argument goes away, because the CPU could
be working on a different process, while the DMA occurs offline.
Multi-user performance is distinctly different from single user.
Do buy the fastest disk you can.  Don't forget that with the proper controller,
two slower disks might actually be faster in a multi-user setup.
-- 
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Clarence A Dold - cdold at starfish.Convergent.COM		(408) 435-5274
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